Looks Like Wlad Klitschko-David Haye Is On For July 2nd

The younger Klitschko brother, who owns the IBF, IBO and WBO titles, will glove up with David Haye, the WBA champion, on July 2nd.

TSS reached Klitschko trainer Manny Steward, and the Kronk king chuckled when asked to verify what Mike Marley said, that we'd be seeing the most meaningful heavyweight showdown since Lennox Lewis destroyed what was remaining of Mike Tyson's mystique in 2002.

"Mike Woods is the first person to tell me this," said Steward, as he chuckled. The trainer said he'd almost touched base with Wlad on the phone today, but had a matter to intend to. "That's probably what he was calling about! That's gonna be big! The anger I saw in him in the second Chris Byrd fight, in 2006, that's the last time he got riled up. That nasty side...Guys that are so nice, like him and Lennox, they have a dark side to them. It comes out in the big fights, like it did for Lennox against Mike. He enjoyed brutalizing him, punishing him. Wladimir has the same dark side."

Klitschko (55-3 with 49 KOs), who turns 35 in March, will first fight 14-0 Brit Dereck Chisora, in a match reset from last month, after he hurt his stomach. They'll get it on April 30 in Germany.

Haye has long said he wanted a shot at a Klitschko, any Klitschko, and did a masterful job baiting them into agreeing to a fight, considering his rather thin resume as an ex cruiserweight champion. But he lit a fire under the cerebral pugilists when he held up posters showing himself holding the lopped-off heads of the brothers. Their mum wasn't amused, and many are hoping to see Wlad unload his ire on the mouthy Brit. TSS admits they don't care for Haye's brand of trash talk; he joked about putting a beating on his last foe, Audley Harrison, and promised it would be the equivalent of a "gang rape" scenario. He then refused to retract and apologize for his grotesque crack.

"This has been over a year," Steward said. "The flavor, the smoke, the aroma has been building. Same way Mike went crazy at that press conference, the build up..This fight has been two years of people wanting to see it."

Steward will be ultra busy in the weeks and months ahead. His guy Miguel Cotto will take on Ricardo Mayorga on March 12th in Vegas, so Steward will run a camp full of all-stars, including Wlad, Cotto, Andy Lee (who'll fight in New York/MSG on a Sergio Martinez-Sergiy Dzinziruk undercard on March 12) and Tyson Fury (Lee's cousin) all coming in to a gym to whittle down and get into fighting form. That camp will be in a Hollywood gym, as yet not chosen, Steward said. Next week, publicity cranks up for Cotto-Mayorga, a match which Steward says he looks forward to, and which should precede a Cotto-Margarito rematch, which could well go down in June in NY. Chad Dawson, a new addition to the Kronk cadre, might well join that camp of all-stars as well.

Then, a few hours later, Team Haye sent out a release that looks like it is laying the groundwork for an exit strategy:

January 5, 2011 - WBA world heavyweight champion David 'The Hayemaker' Haye has brandished rival titleholder Wladimir Klitschko a 'coward', following the Ukrainian's decision not to unify the belts in a 2011 showdown.

A bout between IBF and WBO kingpin Klitschko and Haye appeared close to completion earlier this week, but Wladimir instead decided to announce an April 30 defence against Britain's Dereck Chisora on Wednesday.

"We agreed to a date of July 2nd and a venue in Germany with both Sky Sports and RTL and everybody appeared happy with the deal," said a bemused Haye. "We made a few concessions to remove past stumbling blocks and were happy to do so, as it finally looked like the fight would get made.

"Even through negotiations, though, it was clear Wladimir was uneasy about taking the fight. He would often come up with new obstacles and problems to overcome, and I never sensed he fancied the fight.

"He refused to come to England, wanted to pick his own gloves, enter the ring second, box out of the red corner and demanded a German doctor. He also wanted his name to feature first on any promotional material ahead of the event. We bowed to each and every one of his demands. I didn't want to potentially jeopardise anything this time around."

With everything in place for a Haye bout, Klitschko nevertheless settled for Chisora, the unproven British champion. Still adamant the unification clash will happen, Klitschko informed Haye that he plans to deal with both Britons in 2011.

"It should never have come to this," said Haye, 25-1 (23 KO). "I was available to fight in May and June, and yet Klitschko only gave me dates of April 30 and July 2. The April date would be too close to Amir Khan's next fight, and would prove problematic with Sky Box Office, so we settled for July.

"Klitschko claims he'll fight both Chisora and I, but it's nonsense. Are we expected to believe that a fighter that competed only once in the whole of 2009 and twice in 2010 is now going to box twice in a matter of nine weeks? A bout with me is the most lucrative, meaningful and dangerous fight Wladimir's ever had, not some throwaway tune-up. Wladimir won't fight anybody nine weeks after Chisora, let alone me.

"I now need to look for a fight of my own beyond April, as Amir Khan has that month tied up with his bout. Presumably Wladimir is expecting me to fight in either May or June and then face him in early July. It's ridiculous."

This latest twist in the Haye-Klitschko saga has angered the Brit more than any other and, as he now looks for a title challenger of his own, the WBA champion is resigned to never getting the fight he so desperately wants.

"They demanded 50:50 right from the start and we eventually agreed and gave them all they wanted, despite the fact that our side brought three times as much money to the overall pot," recalled Haye.

"We had venues available for May and June, yet Wladimir had no intention of ever coming to England. Unfortunately, he had no venues available in Germany for May and June and that's why we find ourselves in the situation we're in right now."

Haye added: "If the fight doesn't happen now, it never will. I'm done with the Klitschkos. I know I can retire later this year with my head held high, knowing I did everything in my power to make these fights happen. I've had defining fights and beaten the best in the world as a cruiserweight, but, without me, Wladimir can never say he's done the same as a heavyweight."

Thoughts, TSS Universe? Do you give Haye a chance? Or will the fight be over before it starts, with Haye soiling his trunks at the thought of a pissed off Klitschko raining one-twos on him? Or before that...will it EVER get out of the negotiation stage?

Of course David Haye has a chance. He is arguably the quickest fighter Wlad has ever faced. He's at least on par with Eddie Chambers and Chris Byrd when it comes to handspeed, and I'm not talking about meaningless shoeshine flurries, but KO blows that can come without warning. Like Roy Jones Jr., Haye can tag his opponents with a power shot without first having to set it up with a jab. Haye also possesses about 5 times the power of Byrd and Chambers combined. Even more important than that, Haye's footwork is incomparably superior to any of the fighters that Wlad has ever fought. Footwork is the biggest key to getting past Wlad's height and reach advantage and being able to deliver the power to Wlad's chin. Also, I don't care how much Wladimir has matured over the last 5 years, he is mentally weak. He cannot deal with adversity. Should Haye manage to reach his chin and hurt him, he will go on survival mode much the way he did in his first fight with Sam Peter, except that Haye is not a plodding fighter that throws wide roundhouse punches. If Peter managed to nick Wlad, Haye can absolutely catch Wlad cleanly. Still, it doesn't change the fact that Haye's chin is probably full of glass and that he'll probably end up either getting caught clean himself and KO'd instantly, or he will hang back the way Chambers did and hope to make it unscathed and make it to the final bell.

By the way, both Wladimir Klitschko and David Haye are in the roster for Fight Night Champion, coming out for the PS3 and the Xbox 360 on March 1st. 7 weeks, 6 days to go! If you can't wait till July to see these guys go at it, you can pit them against each other in just two months!

MisterLee says:

Haye is going to get destroyed. He's more hype than anything. I actually feel Adamek has faced a stiffer line up, including a prime Arroela, former Olympian Estrada who gave him some problems but gassed out... beating an old ruiz didn't prove much, or dancing around that Valuev. David haye is like a poor man's ali, without the chin. Wlad gonna rain on him, and I think it'll be a mid round KO, good bye haye. Holler!

admin says:

I wouldn't bet the house, heck, not even the rights to a tin shack, that Haye will go through with this.

brownsugar says:

Wlad is probably one of the most well coordinated Big Big Heavy Weight Boxers you'll ever see,.. I don't think he's as skillful as the many excellent 200-220 pounders who have thrilled us in the past,.. but he's very solid,.. well conditioned and STRONG,...the fact that Wlad adheres to sound boxing principals while in the ring makes him better than guys who are more naturally gifted...When Wlad delivers the perfect punch,.. you'll find yourself wondering if he traffics in nuclear warfare.... I'd be willing to bet that he plays a mean game of basketball too. Haye is a different breed altogether,.. he doesn't wear guys down like Holmes by throwing a few hundred jabs untill he either closes an eye or slices up his man,.. Haye is a straight up stealth nuclear bomber.. he preys on his opponents,.. not by accumulating a points victory style win,.. but he literally waits and waits untill he can land a nuclear strike.. Haye is a finisher. He even shook Valuev to the core,.. to the point where his knees buckled... and don't worry about his stamina,.. Haye doesn't waste ammo,.. he saves everything for the coup de gras'... Haye will try to keep his distance while Wlad will box methodically inching his way closer.... ever so carefully. There won't be a lot of back and forth,.. whoever lands the first nuke will most likely win the war... But that is the nature of nuclear warfare....

the Roast says:

Haye has to step inside and land a lightning bolt of a right hand. Like Reynaldo Snipes dropping Larry Holmes. He has the power, Wlad has been dropped way back when, but can Haye get that close without being squashed like a bug??? I pick squashed like a bug. Wlad by mid round KO. Where you at Mortcola? Did you go looking for that plummy bastard Robert Curtis???

Radam G says:

Hopefully this reply of mine will post on the Dr. Wlad piece now. Anyway! I won't believe that these two B+ fighters -- bums -- are getting down until they step into that squared jungle facing one another. And when and if they do, it won't be a good bout. Hayes will run and safety-first Dr. W.K. will be happy about it. The great boxing guru Manny S will not be able to motivate Doc Iron fist to pick it up and go for the kayo. Both of these bums will be overly concerned about those china chins. This will be more garbage that will probably end in a DRAW! Holla!

mortcola says:

Hey Roast! I'm here, but my comments sometimes don't show up. I think with Haye's nuclear capabilities, he's a threat, in spite of the fact that he lacks strategic defense or state of the art targeting capabilities. I try to separate the fact that he's an annoying, prancing, whining, testifying diva from the fact that he can in fact bang. If Wlad fight's his usual tactically perfect fight, while mixing up the jabs and countering a few times effectively, I think the smart bet is that Wlad spears him and KOs Haye in the mid rounds. But Haye has legitimate explosive power, and that is sometimes an equalizer. I don't think, though, that he has an inside game apart from bulling and rabbit punching, which means he is going to have to accomplish everything from the outside, where Wlad is the absolute master. Haye was pathetic against Valuev - just watched several rounds of that fartfest - he had no variety, no way to affect the distance, just some speedy bombs and pointless side to side, as well as plenty of gun-shy twitches and flinches as the light-hitting Valuev tried to nail him. That brand of Haye has little chance against a focused Klitschko, except for that old roulette wheel. Toss it out there, maybe you get lucky.

mortcola says:

Hey, Ed Mike - comments to this article seemed to get directed over to the Golden Boy article; something wacky with the physics of the new universe?

joey3fingers says:

Looks like it’s no longer redirecting your comments to the Golden Boy Article. No Glitch or Bug Boys plane simple human errors creeping into the system.

If anyone ever sees this happen in future send me a message on the forum and i can have it fixed in minutes.

Once again apologies for the less then acceptable launch of the new site. Thanks for your continued patience.

Joe

Editor Mike says:

...go the distance (euphemism). Will be fairly surprised if he ever fights a Brother K.

Condor says:

Agreed. I'll really be surprised if Haye ever makes a ring entrance against a K (just look at the history between Haye and the K's). And mortcola is again spot on in his analysis. Maybe Haye lands a hail mary, but I doubt it. Klitschko is never out of shape. And he'll be focused for this one, big-time. I think it could end in 1 round (much like a focused RJJ KO'd Griffin in their rematch).